Apparatus for magazining articles



c. B.LUBBERT ETAL 2,661,866 APPARATUS FOR MAGAZINING ARTICLES Dec. 8, 1953 2 Shee'Es-Sheet 1.

Filed Feb. 14, 1951 m m M M m m w W L B m c M a -\Z. mi 13 m/ 2 lmfi w l a H KQQ? giaswiifl i I llllrl/ IZ .fllvh furd.

Wm r. a

fi l C. H. TR/MBLE AlrroR/vsr Dec. 8, 1953 c. B. LUBBERT ET AL 2,661,866

, APPARATUS FOR MAGAZINING ARTICLES Filed Feb. 14, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /Nl/ENTOR$ C B. LUBBER 7' C. H. TR/MBLE BY i/ ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 8, 1953 flr'imble, Winston Salem, N. 0., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New

York, N. 'Y., a corporation of New York Application February 14, 1 951, SerialNo. $210,852 Tilaims. (01122-40 This invention relates to apparatus for magazining articles, and more particularly to apparatus for feeding rubber grommets into amagazine a predetermined position Usually, rubber grommets are designed to be inserted in an aperture provided .in :a. piece part by a suitable reciprocatory tool. It is desirable to feed the grommets from a supply container to a magazine from which such a tool may be supplied with grommets a position in which they canbereadilyzinsertedin the aperture without further manipulation-of the grommet .by the operator-oi the apparatus.

An object of the invention :is to provide .new and improved apparatus for :magazining articles.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus for vfeeding rubber grommets :into a magazine in a predetermined F-BOSlflOB. g

apparatus embodying \certain features of the invention may include a container for holding a supply of articles, means rotatable within the container for picking up individual articles held therein, and means positioned :in the ,path of the-rotatable :means for-receiving articles .car- -ried by therrotatab-le means,- said rotatablemeans being retractible to assist the withdrawal of an article therefrom.

Qther'objects and advantages of the invention will iappear ifrom the fol-lowing detailed description of a specific embodiment .thereof, wheniread in conjunction with the appended drawings, in

which: V

11 is a vertical section of an :article feeding "apparatus embodying certain-features of the in- VBIItiOI'L;

Rig. :2 a vertical section=taken alongiines2-e2 oi Fig. 1-;

Rig. -3 is a =fragmentary-section 'showing'ea portion of the apparatus-shown in Eig. "1, with some iof the elements thereof at 'difierent stages in the operating cycle of the apparatus;

Figs. '4 and 5 are iragnrentaryisections similar to Fig. 3 showing the relative-positions ofs-some of the elements of the apparatus under difierent conditions, and

'6 sis an enlarged section takenalonglline 6'6-ofIFig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings and more; partioularlyto Fig.1, therei-s shown a container 10 'havinganarouate .bottom 1 I (a. semi-circularend t2 :and sides I-4l4 having-sloping zlower J30):- tions :f5- i5 tFig. -2). A dividing=rib \t6 (Figs. 1 ;:and2) -is.- positioned.initheelower portion Lot the 12 journaled in bearings 2 0-40 secured in the sides of the container .IJJ. One end of theshaft .13 extends beyond the container .Iil so that suitable drivinglmeans (not shown), such .as an elec- 5 tr'ic motor, may be connected thereto for turnin the rotor within the container at a predetermined rate of speed. i

Each face of the .rotor L1 isprovidedwithfour equally spaced, V-shapedrmesses 73- Z3 IEigs. 2 and 3), -.each.recess11aving mus 2.4 andzi. The recesses 23- 23 on one .faceof the rotor 'L'! are aligned with the recesses on the opposite face of the rotor. Arms 2J.2! are positioned in the recesses 23-23., and are mounted pivatany on 15 .sha'fts "ZS-28 extending through bores 30- 1139 provided in the rotor .l llnear the vertex .of the V-shapedrecesses. A counterloore 31 .is provided in each recess 23 to meceive a .torsion spring .32, which is designed to normally hold the arm 21'! 0 against the .wall 2. ofjitsrespeet'ive recess. The

walls 24-24 of the recesses are designed to hold the farms 21-.2-1'in radially alignedpositions with respect .to the axis of rotation -of the rotor JTI (Eig. 1)

The container ii! .-is designed to hold a Substantial supply .of rubber grommets .3I4.'3l each of whichhasa recessi .(Fig. 6.) and aiperipheral groove is Joy means of which the ggrommet Sis fitted irran aperture of .a piece part. The-sloping 30 Walls of the container i0 are designed .to

concentrate the grommets 3A-.3. i .in .the path of travel of the-arms iii-12.7 carried hy-the rotor 1.1. The alt-lb i6 ,provided to-separate the :mass of grommets concentrated on the bottom :of .the

35 containerso that themovementaof the grommets by-the arms .mounted on :one (face of :the .rotor .1 not referred to .erommets positioned in the ,path .of-athe-farms mounted-ontheopposite face of the .rotor. EIZhe free ends .Of =the arms til-e211 iaregprovided with. an enlarged head BBideSigned -to:fit:snug'1y=.int0 the recess 35 of :the grommets.

The chamber I0 is so designed that as the terms r2 12:7 are married mast the aarcuate :hottom 1 1., tthe clearance :hetween .the sands Q01 ;=th;e

145 a-arms andj-the inside, surface .of rthe :arouate docttomconstantLy-decreases. 'Tihisrdecreasingtoiearr-ance ncauses any isrommets in the path n)? -.the arms with :their recess :35 :facing 215116 terms to :b.e:caught:under the ends :Qf the @armsand torhe married in a mounterclookwise direction, iaszseen in Fig. 1, along the:surface-nfithe bottom slrl. -As Y an armtmoves aaigrommetialong in rthisrmam =ner, the :head 23.8 20f rthe armeenters mssubs'tantial tdiStfi-IIEB :into the -.recess :35 inxtheagrommet.

;eontainer-|0. na-rotor i1--is -secured to.:a:shait:18 .15'5W169J8J1G8 between the gfree iends of the garms 3 21-2! and the inner surface of the semi-circular end 12 is the same throughout the entire length of the end l2 and is of such dimension that the grommets are held on the ends of thearins and slide freely along the end [2.

Magazines 43-43, having passageways 44-44 formed therein, are secured to the upper portion of the container to receive the grommets 34-34 picked up by the arms 21-21. The passageways 44-44 are bell-shaped at the entrance end of the magazines 43-43 to facilitate easy entrance of the grommets into the magazines. The entrance ends of the magazines 43-43 also are provided with slots 46-45 for receiving the ends of the arms 27-21 as they are carried past the magazines by the rotor IT. The magazines 43-43 are provided for feeding the grommets from the chamber ID to an apparatus (not shown) which is designed to insert the grommet in an aperture of a piece part. The arms 21-2! position the grommets in the magazines with their recesses facing the bottoms of the magazines so that the grommets can be inserted in a piece part without further manipulation of the grommets by an opperator of the apparatus.

Operation Let it be assumed that a substantial supply of grommets 34-34 is provided in the container It and that the shaft 18 is rotated to turn the rotor 11 at a predetermined rate of speed. The rotor is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. l, and carries the arms 21-2? into and through the mass of grommets concentrated in the bottom H of the chamber lli. As each arm 21 approaches the bottom of the container H), the free end thereof moves closer to the inner surface of the arcuate bottom. The grommets are positioned haphazardly along the arcuate bottom l I (Fig. 1) and as each arm 21 moves through a.

the grommets, the head 38 thereof will engage any grommet that is resting in its path with its recess facing toward the head 38. Due to the resilient nature of the grommets and the fact that I the arms 21-21 are yieldable in a direction op- 'posite to the direction of rotation of the rotor l1 against the action of the torsion springs 32-32, the head 38 of each arm will slip partially into the recess 35 of a grommet and carry the grommet along the inner surface of the arcuate bottom H in a counterclockwise direction. As each arm reaches the bottom of the container It, the head 38 enters a substantial distance into the recess 35 of the grommet because the clearance between the end of the arm and the inner surface of the arcuate bottom H constantly decreases. Due to the large number of grommets concentrated in the path of the moving arms 21-21, it is likely that each arm 21 will find a grommet positioned in its path, with its bore 35 facing the head of the arm so that it can be picked up by the arm in this manner.

As each arm 21 that has picked up a grommet travels adjacent to the arcuate end l2, the clearance between the end of the arm and the inner surface of the end I2 is such as to hold the grommet on the end of the arm until the arm engages the bell-shaped opening of its respective magazine 43. The movement of each arm 21 carries a grommet into the bell-shaped opening and partially into the magazine 43, as shown in Fig. l, and the end of the arm enters the slot 46. The spacing between the end of each of the arms 21-21 and the inner surface of the passageway 4 the arm 21 carrying a grommet is in its upper most position and is aligned radially with the axis of rotation of the disc l'l, further movement of the head 38 of the arm in its respective magazine is prevented.

As the rotor ll continues to rotate, it carries the shaft 28 on which the arm'is mounted in the same direction. This'movement of the shaft 28 causes the arm 21 to pivot about the shaft against the action of the associated torsion spring 32 so that the wall 24 moves away from the arm and the arm assumes the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 3, in which position the arm engages the wall 25 of its respective recess 23. This movement of the arm withdraws the head 38 from the grommet. When the arm is free of the grommet, the torsion spring 32 returns the arm to its normal position, in which it rests against the wall 24 of its recess. Each arm 21 picks up a grommet from the bottom of the container [0 and deposits the grommet in its respective magazine 43 in this manner, and as the grommets are inserted in the passageways 44-44, they push the grommets previously inserted in the magazine through the passageways.

When either of the magazines 43-43 is filled with the grommets 34-34, the rotor l1 continues to rotate and the arms 27-21 pick up grommets for insertion in the magazines. However, when an arm carrying a grommet reaches the receiving end of a full magazine, only a portion of the grommet can enter the passageway 44. The end of the arm 2! is held against the end of the magazine, and the wall 2 l of its recess 23 moves away from the arm 21, whereby the arm moves relative to the rotor ll against the action of its torsion spring 32. As the shaft 28 continues to rotate about the axis of the rotor, the distance between the pivotal axis of the arm and the inner surface of the magazine increases continually until the head of the arm is completely withdrawn from the grommet, as shown in Fig. 5. When the shaft 28 reaches this position, the grommet falls to the bottom of the container and the torsion spring 32 returns the arm 2'! to its normal operating position where it rests against the wall 24 of its respective recess. By mounting the arms 21-2! resiliently on the rotor 11, the arms are free to yield when the magazines are full and thereby permit the rotor to continue rotating without damaging the arms or the magazines.

While the above-described apparatus is particularly well adapted to pickup rubber grommets from a supply container and assemble them in magazines in a predetermined position, it is to be understood that the apparatus may be readily modified to pick up various types of articles made of metal or resilient materials and to insert them in suitable magazines without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Also, various changes and modifications within the skill of workers in this art, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is: 1.An apparatus for feeding articles into a magazine, which comprises a container for holding a supply of articles, a rotor rotatable within the container, a plurality of arms mounted pivotally on opposite sides of the rotor and being resiliently biased against movement in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the rotor, said arms having their ends designed to pick up individual articles as they travel adjacent to the bottom portion of the'container, an arouate rib provided in the lower portion of the container for concentrating the articles in the path of travel of the arms, and a pair of tubular magazines having their entrance ends extending into the upper portion of the container so as to receive articles from the arms as the arms are carried past the entrance end of the magazines, said magazines being so positioned that the arms assume oblique positions against the action of their respective resilient biasing means after they engage the entrance end of the magazine and are withdrawn from the articles.

2. An apparatus for feeding rubber grommets having an aperture in one side thereof into a magazine, which comprises a container for receiving a supply of such grommets, a member rotatable within the container and being of such size that substantial clearance is provided between the outer surface of the member and the inner surface of the container, a plurality of arms mounted pivotally on the member and having their end portions extending beyond the outer surface of the rotatable member, said end portions of the arms being designed to fit snugly into the aperture provided in the rubber grommets so that as the arms are advanced past the bottom portion of the container the ends of the arms enter into the aperture of the grommets and carry the grommets along the surface of the container, a magazine secured to the upper portion of the container to receive grommets picked up by the arms as the arms are advanced therepast, the spacing between the axis of rotation of the member and the entrance end of the magazine being such that the arm is held momentarily against movement with respect to the magazine, and means for resiliently biasing the arms against movement in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the member to permit the arm to stop when it engages the end of the magazine until its pivot point is advanced a distance sufficient to withdraw the arms from the grommets after they are inserted in the magazine.

3. An apparatus for feeding rubber grommets having a central aperture therein into a magazine, which comprises a container for holding a supply of rubber grommets, a rotor mounted rotatably within the container and having a plurality of V-shaped recesses provided on opposite sides thereof, an arm pivotally mounted on the rotor in each of said recesses so that the arm is free to move between the opposite Walls of its respective recess, a torsion spring secured to each arm to hold the arm in its respective recess so that it is aligned radially with the central axis of the rotor, said arms having portions thereof extending beyond the periphery of the disc which are designed to fit tightly into the central aperture of the rubber grommets, said container being so designed that as the arms are advanced along the lower portion thereof the ends of the arms enter the central apertures of grommet-s resting in the path of the arms and carry the grommets along the surface of the container, a rib provided in the lower portion of the container for concentrating the rubber grommets in the path of travel of the arms, a magazine secured to the upper portion of the container and having its entrance end aligned with the path of travel of the arms to receive grommets carried by the arms as the arms are advanced therepast, said magazine being so spaced with respect to the axis of rotation of the rotor that movement of the ends of the arms is stopped momentarily as each arm inserts a grommet in the entrance end of the magazine, said arm remaining against the end of the magazine as the rotor continues to rotate until its pivot point has been advanced to such a position that the torsion spring urges the arm in the direction of rotation of the rotor and inserts the grommet completely within the end of the magazine, whereby continued movement of the rotor Withdraws the arm from the grommet after it has been inserted in the magazine.

4. An apparatus for feeding articles into a magazine, which comprises a container for holding a supply of articles, a member rotatable within the container, means positioned in the upper portion of the container for receiving articles from the container and having one end thereof positioned slightly beyond the axis of rotation of the member, an arm mounted pivotally on the member, stop on the member for aligning the arm with respect to the axis of rotation of the member, a spring for holding the arm against the stop, said arm having its free end designed to pick up individual articles held in the container, said receiving means being positioned to receive articles carried by the arm as the arm is carried therepast, said arm being yieldable against the action of the spring so that the end thereof is withdrawn from the article as the member carries the pivot point of the arm beyond the entrance end of the receiving means.

5. An apparatus for feeding articles into a magazine, which comprises a container for holding a supply of articles, a rotor rotatable within the container, a plurality of arms mounted pivotally on opposite sides of the rotor and having their free ends designed to pick up individual articles held in the container, means for aligning each arm radially on the rotor, resilient means for holding the arms normally against their respective aligning means, an arcuate rib provided in the lower portion of the container for concentrating the articles in the path of travel of the arms carried by the rotor, a pair of tubular magazines having their entrance ends extending into the upper portion of the container so as to receive articles from the arms as the arms are carried therepast, said magazines being so positioned that the end of the arms stop at the entrance end of the magazines against the action of the resilient holding means until the arms are withdrawn from the articles inserted in the magazines, whereby the. resilient holding means returns the arms to their radial positions.

CARL B. LUBBERT. CHARLES H. TRIMBLE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,442,866 Elliott Jan, 23, 1923 1,693,650 Latharn Dec. 4, 1928 1,813,697 Dellaree July '7, 1931 2,059,546 Brandenberg Nov. 3, 1936 2,214,814 Hambleton Sept. 17, 1940 2,393,823 Schooler Jan. 29, 1946 2,536,060 Jakob Jan. 2, 1951 2,564,879 Cook Aug. 21, 1951 

